Redmond, Brian G. (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University,
Bloomington)
AN INVESTIGATION OF LATE WOODLAND PERIOD SETTLEMENT IN THE
EAST FORK WHITE RIVER VALLEY, INDLANA
The project involved a study of the Late Woodland period occupation of the East
Fork, White River Valley in Martin, Lawrence, and Jackson counties, Indiana This
work was funded by a 1990 Survey and Planning Grant from the Indiana Department
of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. The goal
of this project was to define the nature and the extent of the Late Woodland occupation
in the study area through the analysis of material culture and settlement patterns.
Project methods consisted of site records review, collector interviews, and limited
reconnaissance survey of Late Woodland components within the study area.
The East Fork White River Valley has its origins as a glacial meltwater channel
and contains sediments of Pleistocene and Holocene origin. Erosion has exposed
large areas of these outwash, lake, and acolian dune sediments in the form of
broad riverine terraces that were used for settlement during the Late Woodland
period. In portions of Martin and Lawrence counties, bedrock uplands border the
river and form sheer limestone and sandstone escarpments containing numerous rockshelters.
During the four week field survey a total of 48 new sites was recorded. Fifteen
of these were Late Woodland components, and an additional 45 Late Woodland sites
were identified through records work and collector interviews. Late Woodland components
were recognized by the presence of diagnostic ceramic and lithic artifact forms.
The diagnostic ceramics commonly consist of globular jars tempered with crushed
grit or shell. Vessel bodies are treated with fine vertical cord-marking or fabric-marking.
Many jar rims exhibit narrow bands or folds; less frequently occurring appendages
include expanded loop handles and vertical nodes. Decoration most often consists
of either cord-wrapped dowel impressed line-filled triangles or trailed curvilinear
and rectilinear guilloche designs. Rim bands are decorated with oblique lines
or chevrons executed in cord or plain dowel impressions. (see Figure
2 )
This ceramic assemblage is most similar to Oliver Phase pottery from the West
Fork, White River Valley in central Indiana, but it also resembles Fort Ancient
Anderson Phase pottery from southwestern Ohio. Additional ceramic artifacts include
grit- tempered elbow pipes, decorated with incised or fingernail impressed designs,
and pottery discs. Lithic artifact forms include triangular arrow points with
straight to incurvate sides and straight to convex bases, groundstone and chipped
stone celts, pitted anvil stones, and sandstone abraders.
A preliminary analysis of Late Woodland settlement patterns points to the occupation
of a number of permanent habitation sites, of one to two hectares in extent, situated
at terrace edge or floodplain ridge locations. These village settlements are represented
by dense surface accumulations of pottery, lithic debitage, fire-cracked rock,
charcoal accumulations, and burned animal bone. Sites of the type are most often
located within one kilometer of a tributary stream and are situated on sands or
sandy loam soils. Smaller and less dense surface exposures of cultural debris
mark the locations of short-term extractive campsites. These temporary, seasonal(?)
settlements occur in the uplands, in rockshelters, along interior creeks situated
more than 5.0 km from the East Fork of White River, and in terrace and bottomland
locations. The project has also documented the existence of formal cemetery sites
located in natural gravel knolls in Jackson and Bartholomew counties as well as
one semi-circular earthwork enclosure bordering Lick Creek in Orange County.
Radiocarbon assays of excavated material from Late Woodland period sites in Bartholomew
County indicate that the Late Woodland occupation of the East Fork, White River
Valley took place between AD 900 and 1400. This temporal placement, along with
certain aspects of the Late Woodland settlement pattern and material culture discussed
above, are similar to characteristics of the Fort Ancient Anderson Phase occupation
of southwestern Ohio. Indeed, further research may show the Late Woodland period
occupation of the East Fork, White River Valley to be an Upper Mississippian (Fort
Ancient-like) cultural adaptation that was contemporary with the Middle Mississippian
Angel Phase occupation of the lower Ohio River Valley. [return to 1990 abstracts menu][continue to next]